This invention relates to text and graphics reformatters, and more particularly to automated form preparation on a computer.
A person will often write the body of a communication before formatting the communication for transmittal. For example, a person might write the body of a letter before he formats the letter with the recipient's name and address, salutation, etc. The formatting process can be quite time consuming if the letter writer has to call up an appropriate letterhead, look up addresses, etc. The same problem exists for other format structures, such as facsimile formats and memorandum formats. Furthermore, the writter might want the same body of text transmitted in a number of different formats, causing a duplication of labor.
An attractive alternative to a manual formatting approach is to use a computer system to assist in reformatting of the information contained in such a note or other entered information. This information may be pure text (referred to here as a "text object") or pure graphics (referred to here as a "graphics object") or may be an unspecified mix, possibly containing both text and graphics and possibly other object types (referred to here as an "object").
Furuta et al., in "Document Formatting Systems: Survey, Concepts and Issues, Computing Surveys, vol. 14, 1982, pp. 417-472, discuss approximately 30 text formatting systems and related document processing concerns. Ordered and unordered objects are distinguished from each other, and abstract and concrete objects are likewise distinguished.
Peels et al. in "Document Architecture and Text Formatting", A.C.M. Trans. on Office Information Systems, vol. 3, 1985, pp. 347-369, discuss machine reformatting of a source text that is already in machine-readable form, using their COBATEF system. The authors introduce definitions for basic text elements, such as paragraphs, lists, quotations, formulae, figures and tables, and formatting aids, such as margins, headers, footers and indices. Line break and hyphenation algorithms are also discussed. The COBATEF system first converts the text into a logical structure, then performs horizontal and vertical formatting.
Horak, in "Office Document Architecture and Office Document Interchange Formats: Current Status of International Standardization", Computer, October 1985, pp. 50-60, discusses a document architecture (ODA) and office document interchange format (ODIF) models adopted or modified by the Committee Consultatif International de Telegraph et Telephone, by the International Standardization Organization, and by the European Computer Manufacturers Association. A logical tree structure is used for layout, and logical objects and layout objects are distinguished in formatting of a document.
Iwai et al, in "A Document Layout System Using Automatic Document Architecture Extraction", A.C.M. Conference Proceedings on Human Factors in Computing Systems, 1989, pp. 369-374, discuss and contrast the COBATEF system and their own automatic text, table and figure layout system.
Iggulden and Streck, in U.S. Pat. No. 4,918,723, disclose a keyboard-to-facsimile transmission system that permits direct input of alphanumeric characters and document delimiters to a facsimile transmission machine. Various QWERTY keyboards are illustrated for use with the system. Addressee information is explicitly input by the system operator.
None of the above-mentioned computer systems: (1) explicitly allow a choice of different communication formats; (2) allow supplementation, by an accessible database, of the information explicitly entered by the operator; (3) allow information entry by a variety of input approaches, such as pen-and-tablet, keyboard, on-board storage, etc.; or (4) provide for recognition of implicit information, such as addressee names, other person's names, locations, events, dates and times within the entered information.
What is needed is a system that allows automatic preparation a formatted document utilizing, in part, the information contained in the original structured or unstructured body of text. Preferably, this system would allow a choice of any of several formats for the formal memorialization, and would allow rapid conversion between the various formats. It would preferably also be able to complete required information in the formatted document from partial or fragmentary information in the original body of text.